Controlling garment



Feb. 7, 1956 E. c. CHAMPAGNE I CONTROLLING GARMENT Filed Dec. 9, 1952 INVENTR ATTORNEYJ coN'rRoLLmo GARMENT EnidryyC. Champagne, Woodbridge, Conm, assigirou to The- Berger. Brothers Cornpzi'ngNew Haven, Cfiflfii} a corporation of Connecticut Application llecemher 1952; senators, 324,951 4ciaims. (01.5242

, Thisinvention relates to a controlling girdle or bras- 'siere'andtrnore particiilarly to agarrne'nt designed to be fitted to a-figure; which is-"being'zmeasured, i'n order to control the shape of the figure and more particularly the breast portions thereof in order that the proper r'nea'sureinents can be made 'for'a Corset or brassiere.

In measuring a figure for a garment such as a bras sier'e or combined corset and brassiere, it is desirable to so control a figure and particularly theb'reasts that the measurement will be taken when the figure is the sarne as is desired to beobtained by the garment which is to be made Therefore, it has been found advantageous, answerin t'he' measurements; to placeupon the body of the person who isto be measured a'controlling garmentwhich may be fit-ted to the bodyandadjusted to the desired configuration beforethe measurements-are taken.- As garments of thistyrie are used by cors'etie'rs', it" isnot economical to' havea separate g'a'rm'ent 'for eachperson tobe' measured; bu'trather the garment shonl'd" have provisions for adjustment of various parts thereof "so that it may be properly fitted to figures I of difieientsizes'andbe made to conform to thefigure desired to be obtained; u

It is particularly important to have such a garment, which" normally encircles the body, adjustable as to girth and; aiso-adjustable with respect to the-breast pockets so thatthe garmen't' niay be made to co'nftirrrr closely to the figure of the person whois to be-m'e'asured and so that "it may produce the figure desired to be obtained int'hle ffihlSfied' garment;

Iti's-also desirable to provide "a garment of this ldiid with; :1 wide range of adjustment so th'at it mayfibe capable of eing' employed upon a-wide-range ofi figures ofdiiierent sizes and measurements;

One object of theinverition is to; provide acontrolling garment which willh'ave provisions fohbei-hg-iittdfto figureshaving arelatively wide rangeo'fmeasurements.

A stili=ftrrther object of the invention is tot'n ovide a controlling brassiere or like garmentwhic'h'will not only have" provision for considerable" adjustment asto: the le'frg'tli (girth) of the'garment; but alsopro vis'ion for properly shaping and controllingthe breastsof the figure are convenient manner througha considerablerangeof adjustments;

A still furtherobject' ofth'e invention is toprovide'a controlling garment of the character described which may beadjustedtofii snugly and smoothly over thebustportion of' a subject to' properly shape the breasts offthe subject so that' ineasurements' may be taken for a garrnent tobe worn. I I v Still another objec'toftlie invention is; to-provide a garment of th'e character described which-will be'rel'a ti'vely simple in constructionand relatively inex e sive to r'nanufae'ture, which may be conveniently andeasily adjusted to fit the'figui e of a p'erson oniwhom".itziplaced; and. which" willi conform closelyctor-thee figurea so that prone'rtmeasurementsmay 'beetaken. Q a i- Tot: these: and" other; ends the: invention; consists;- in the 2,733,445 Patented Feb. '7, 6

novel features and combinations of parts tobe hereinafterdescribed and fclaimed;

In'theaccornpanying drawings: 7 V 7 Fig.1 ,is"--a-'front elevational view of a controlling garmentembodying my invention, the garment being shown in" extended position Fig. 2 is-an enlarged-front elevational view of a portion of the garment adjacent one ofthe breast pockets;

Fig: 3- is a'sectional' view on 'line,33"of Fig; 1;" and To'iliustrate a preferred embodiment of the: invention, lfhaveshbwn acontrolling garment. consisting of a front section which comprises two integrally formed inner portiohsl't? a-ndll and two outer-portions 12 and '13];

Secured 'to' the portions'10and 11 adjacent the inner edges thereof are tabs 14andi15 which extend from top to bottom (if thegarinent, and the edges" of these tabs are provided with eyes 16 to receive-lacings 17 so that the lateralspacirig of the portions 10 and 11 may be adj'usted'by-means of theserlacings. It has alreadybeen noted-that the-:sections ,10 and 11 are integrally formed and," as shown in Fig. 3', a portion 18 of the front 'sectio'nof the-garment, which lies between the tabs 14 and IS-aridliesbelow the 1acings 17', provides a selffoi'rning fly when thelaces :are adjusted, it being underste'od that the portions 10, 11' and Bare integrally formed and the fly 18 results from the fact that the lacings 17' aresecured, to the tabs 14 and 15 "to,draw the tabs together overth e fly portion 18. I p

7 As the garment is symmetricalwitli respect tothe cen} ter line of'the'la'cingsi1-7 and each half thereof is identi'cally" formed the description of one side of "the garment will suifice for both, The'portions 10 and111 are joined to" the portions 12' and 13 respectively by gussets; 19; each'of these gussets being relatively narrow from the lowerfledgeof the garment up to a point above the centerthereof whereit flares outwardly sharply int o arelatively wide upper portion 2 0*which forms the upper portion of one of the breast pockets of the garment; It will be understood that while the garment, .as illustrated, is madeofhonelastictextile material; it jisinot neces; s'arily limited in this respect: It will be noted; however, that the portions-10, 11, I2, and 13 will" preferably be of heavier material than the portions 19 and20 sothat, as will be hereinafter explained," theibreast pockets may be adjustedjwith'out .undue bulk, of material at. this portio'n-of thegarm'enhg j a W p p j A tab21' of relatively'heavy material issecuredatthe upper edge of the garment at a positionsubstantially centrally of the gussetportion 20, and at the meeting edges'of the portion 2!) with the portions 10 and' 12 are provide'clja plurality ofeyes. Two of'these eyes 22 are provided uponopposite sides ofthe gusset and'inp position adjacent the UPPer edge of the garment while twoey'es 23 are formed adj'acent the lower, edge of the portion m. Also a pair. oflteyes 24 are formed in the lower end Ofjith tab 21'. v t

A lacing or drawstring 25 is threaded through the eyes", as shown in Figs. 1 and'Z of; the drawings. The; bight portion of .the lacing is threaded through, the 'eyes The two ends, are then brought through theeye's124, then downwardly and outwardly and'through the eyes 22; the ends being then brought together at'th'e center of the portion 20 of the gusset and secured together, as shown at 26. With'this arrangement, it will be seen that apull upon the ends of the drawstring-will draw upon; the eyes 22 anddraw the edges of thegusset together; and thus adjust the lateral dimension of the breast pocket. Also the tightening of the drawstring 25. will} on an count of its pulling upon the "tab 21 and-Itheeyes-t 23, draw: the: body; and lower portions of; ther'gussett 211" together:and..thus=-adjust the verticaldimension ofzthe breast pocket. The material of the portion 24), being relatively light, will pucker or fold in the nature of a fly when' 4 these adjustments are made and will still fit closely to the figure of the subject.

It may be noted that the single drawstring extends not only laterally across the breast pocket, but also in an up-and-down direction thereacross so as to effect simultaneous adjustment in both directions. The string is arranged in two triangular patterns with a tab 21 as the apex, one of the triangles having a broad and one a narrow base.

The garment also comprises wide sections at each side thereof secured to the edges of the portions 12 and 13, these sections being substantially identical. As shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 4, the edge of each of these sections is joined to the central section of the garment, previously described, by a row of hooks and eyes so that the end sections designated generally by the numerals 31 and 32 may be readily detached if desired. Each of these end sections comprises an integral non-elastic portion 33 which, as shown in Fig. 4, underlaps the edge of the adjacent portions 12 and 13. Vertically extending tabs 34 and 35 are secured at spaced points to the portions 33 which tabs are connected by lacings 36, thus providing a self-formin fly 37 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the fly 18. The lacings 36 provide for adjustment of the length (girth) of the sections 31 and 32 so that the length of the garment may have a relatively wide range of adjustment.

Also these end sections 31 and 32 are provided with additional means for adjusting the length thereof so as to increase the range of adjustment. To this end, each of the sections is provided with a plurality of vertically extending flaps or taps 39, two of which are illustrated, or more may be provided if desired. Secured to each of these tabs are a row of eyes 40 adapted to be alternatively engaged by hooks 41, secured to the body of the section by a tab 42 adjacent the tab 35. Thus, if the lacings 36- do not provide suflicient adjustment in size when the garment is extended, as shown in Fig. 1, the hooks 41 may be engaged with the adjacent row of eyes 40 and thus the garment can be adjusted to a smaller size. If a still smaller size is desired, the hooks 41 may be engaged with the more remote eyes 40 of the end sections to provide a still smaller adjustment in the size of the garment.

A plurality of books 43 may be provided at the edge of the section 31, while cooperating eyes 44 are provided at the edge of the section 32 so that the edges of the garment may be secured to them in order that it may encircle the body of the person being fitted.

Also, at the upper edge of each end section of the garment are secured adjustable shoulder straps 46, these straps being provided at their free ends with loops 47 adapted to be secured to studs 48 provided upon the tabs 21, as shown more especially in Fig. 2.

With this arrangement, it will be seen that the shoulder straps tend to exert a pull upon the upper edges of the gusset portions 20 to maintain this portion of the garment stretched tightly. As the drawstrings 25 are passed through the eyes 24 in the tabs 21, the pull upon the drawstrings is taken by the shoulder straps so thatthe upper edge of the garment will not collapse downwardly under the tension of the drawstrings. It will also be seen that a single drawstring may be employed to adjust the breast pockets both in a lateral, and vertical direction so as to form a pocket closely fitting the figure of the subject and which may give the desired shape and uplift to the breasts. As will be understood, the gusset portions 20 do not form the entire breast pocket, but only the upper edge thereof, the center of the pocket being below this enlarged part of the gusset.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is *4 not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

l. A controlling garment adapted to encircle the body of the wearer, said garment comprising a front section having a gusset of inelastic material at each side thereof, each gusset forming, with the body of the section, a breast pocket, each gusset extending from substantially the lower edge to the upper edge of the garment, being of relatively light weight material compared to that of the body of the section and of relatively narrow width below the approximate center of the breast pocket, and each gusset flaring outwardly above the approximate center of the breast pocket toward the upper edge of the garment, and a single drawstring for each gusset, said string being slidably connected to the garment at the lower and side edges of the flaring portion of the gusset and also slidably connected to the gusset adjacent the central portion of the upper edge thereof whereby tensioning of the drawstring effects both lateral and vertical adjustment of the breast pocket.

2. A controlling garment adapted to encircle the body of the wearer, said garment comprising a front section having a gusset of inelastic material at each side thereof, each gusset forming, with the body of the section, a breast pocket, each gusset extending from substantially the lower edge to the upper edge of the garment, being of relatively light weight material compared to that of the body of the section and of relatively narrow width below the approximate center of the breast pocket, and each gusset flaring outwardly above the approximate center of the breast pocket toward the upper edge of the garment, and a single drawstring for each gusset, said string being slidably connected to the garment at the lower and side edges of the flaring portionof the gusset and also slidably connected to the gusset adjacent the central portion of the upper edge thereof whereby tensioning of the drawstring effects both lateral and vertical adjustment of the breast pocket, spaced vertically extending tabs connected to the front section between said gussets, and adjusting laces connecting said tabs to adjust the distance therebetween and provide a self-forming fly over the laces, said fly being integral with the portions of the front section between the gusscts.

3. A controlling garment adapted to encircle the body of the wearer, said garment comprising a front section having a gusset of inelastic material at each side thereof, each gusset forming, with the body of the section, a breast pocket, each gusset extending from substantially the lower edge to the upper edge of the garment, being of relatively light weight material compared to that of the body of the section and of relatively narrow width below the aproximate center of the breast pocket, and each gusset flaring outwardly above the approximate center of the breast pocket toward the upper edge of the garment, a shoulder strap tab secured to each gusset adjacent the upper edge of the flaring portion thereof, a drawstring attached to said tab and secured to each side edge of the gusset at two points, and said string forming two triangles with their apices at said tab, and one of said triangles having a greater altitude but a narrower base than the other.

4. A controlling garment adapted to encircle the body the wearer, said garment comprising a front section having a gusset of inelastic material at each side thereof, each gusset forming, with the body of the section, a breast pocket, each gusset extending from substantially the lower edge to the upper edge of the garment, being of relatively light weight material compared to that of the body of the section and of relatively narrow width below the approximate center of the breast pocket, and each gusset flaring outwardly above the approximate center of the breast pocket toward the upper edge of the garment, and a drawstring slidably connected to the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Millman Apr. 8, 1930 Versoy Nov. 14, 1939 Livingston July 15, 1941 Edelston Mar. 25, 1947 Wolf Apr. 22, 1947 

